A history of California and an extended history of its southern coast counties, also containing biographies of well-known citizens of the past and present, Volume II, Part 104

Author: Guinn, James Miller, 1834-1918
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: Los Angeles, Cal., Historic record company
Number of Pages: 1234

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1833

HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

withstanding this he is a member of the Board of Trade, a stockholder in the Masonic Associa- tion building and the new hotel, and is a mem- ber of the Trade Exchange of Los Angeles, be- sides having stock in the Bank of Commerce. In his religions inclinations he is a Methodist, politically is a Republican, and his fraternal as- sociations ally him with Lodge No. 327, F. & A. M., Chapter No. 84, R. A. M., Commandery No. 40, K. T., and Lodge No. 192, B. P. O. E., all of Long Beach. As a proof of his faith.in Long Beach, Mr. Callahan has purchased con- siderable property in town, in the management of which he has been very successful. Person- ally, he is a sincere and high-minded gentleman, proud of his good name, his many loyal friends, and the success which has been so fairly and strenuously won.

JOHN BARTLEY SMITHSON. Num- bered among those who came to the state over a half century ago is John B. Smithson, who has witnessed the ups and downs of life in a new country and has himself shared in its fluctuating fortunes. The stress and anxiety of former days are now matters of memory only, for in their declining years he and his wife are surrounded by every comfort and are living retired in San Bernardino.

Of English descent and of southern par- entage, John B. Smithson was born in Morgan county, Ala., October 6, 1841, and is a son of Allen F. Smithson, who for many years was a planter in Mississippi. As early as 1846 he brought his family across the plains, winter overtaking them in Pueblo. Colo., where they lived in log houses which they erected until the opening of spring. The next step brought them to Salt Lake, where they remained for about two years, during which time the father carried on a farm, which pro- vided for the support of his family. Taking up the westward march again, by means of ox- teams the family finally reached San Bernar- dino, then almost entirely inhabited by In- dians, and so treacherous were they that it was necessary to build a fort for the protection of the women and children. On what is now A street Mr. Smithson purchased a farm which he ran until 1857, selling it that year and re- turning to Salt Lake. Utah, from there going to Pahreah. Kane county, where he became in- terested in the cattle business and also was made postmaster of the town. He died there at the age of sixty-three years. The wife and mother was before her marriage Letitia Hol- lidav. who was born in Alabama, a daughter of Tohn Holliday. who left the south in 1846 and the following year came to California.

His death, however, occurred in Utalı. Mrs. Letitia Smithson died in Salt Lake, having become the mother of five children.

Of the parental family John B. Smithson is the eldest and is the only one in California. He was a lad of about six years when the family removed to Utah in 1847, and he was too young to appreciate the dangers and hard- ships which the journey involved. In San Bernardino, where they located in 1851, he attended school three weeks, which was the only school training he ever received, and in 1857 returned to Utah with his parents. The following year, however, found him back in San Bernardino. The first opening which came to him in a business way was in the lum- ber business in San Bernardino, a line of en- deavor which he followed for nineteen years, during which time he drove seven yoke of oxen in hauling logs to the mills. Subsequent- ly he gave this up and settled on a farm in Strawberry valley, owning one hundred and sixty acres, to which he later added until at one time he had in his possession four hun- dred and eighty acres. He made a specialty of raising fine apples, having fifteen hundred trees, besides peaches and plums. Many of the vegetables which he raised grew to enor- mous size, and it was no uncommon occur- rence to gather cabbages which weighed for- ty-two pounds each. Dairying and stock-rais- ing also formed important industries carried on in connection with the ranch. In spite of his many private interests he had time for matters of public import, and for a number of years was road overseer, a position to which he was appointed in 1890. having charge of the roads in district No. 1. Feeling that he was entitled to a rest after many years of arduous labor, Mr. Smithson sold his farm in 1904 and has since lived retired in San Ber- nardino, and in December, 1905, he resigned his position as overseer, which leaves him prac- tically free from care.

In San Bernardino, in 1866, Mr. Smithson was married to Miss Jane Cadd, who was born in South Adelaide, Australia, a daughter of Thomas Cadd. a native of England. Her grandfather, John Cadd, also of English birth, removed to Australia with his family and there engaged in farming and stock-raising for a number of years. In 1855 he located in San Bernardino, Cal., and two years later went to Salt Lake City. The following year found him again in San Bernardino, and on the farm which he there established he passed away. At the time of his migration to California in 1855 he was accompanied by his son Thomas, who has ever since been a resident of San Ber- nardino, engaging first as a farmer and stock-

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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

raiser, and later as a freighter. He is now living in a substantial residence on Seventh street, and at the age of seventy-five years is in the enjoyment of good health. His wife, formerly Mary Stetsberry, was also born in England. Her death occurred in San Ber- nardino. Of the thirteen children born to Mr. and Mrs. Cadd ten are living, Mrs. Smith- son being the eldest of the family. The fourth anniversary of her birthi was spent in Honolu- lu. Ten children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Smithson, as follows: Thomas Allen, deputy sheriff of Barstow; John Bartley, holding the same position at Needles; Rose Adelle, Mrs. Henry Scharf, of San Bernardino; Effie, also a resident of this city and the wife of John McGarvey ; William F., deputy sheriff of Dag- gett; Adolphus H., a merchant of this city ; George F., who also resides here and is en- gaged in teaming; M. Nell and Lena, both at home ; and Charles Frederick, a clerk in a mer- cantile establishment in this city. Mr. Smith- son is a member of the Society of Utah Pio- neers of 1847, and also belongs to the Society of California pioneers, of which latter society he is president. Politically he is a Democrat of no uncertain sound, and at one time served on the county central committee. Mrs. Smith- son is a member of the church of Latter Day Saints.

WENDELL P. DAILY. The Daily family is one well known in Southern California, and the ancestry of the above representative can be traced to the great-grandfather, Thomas Daily, Sr., who was born in the parish of Groton, in County Tyrone, and who, in young manhood, came to the United States and settled in Pennsylvania. Later years found him established on a farm in Monroe county, N. Y., his death occurring there at the age of ninety-six years. The eldest child of his marriage with Miss Wilcox was Arthur Daily, who was the first white child born in Rush township, Monroe county. The latter never left his native county and died on his farm there when he was sixty-nine years of age. His mar- riage united him with Lorada Baker, a native of New York, who died in young womanhood, leaving two children, Charles W. and Elizabeth.

Charles W. Daily, the father of Wendell P. Daily, carried on a farm in his native state for some vears. but later went to Kansas. At the time when the abolition and pro-slavery elements were fighting for supremacy, hc served two years and a half in Company L, Fiftieth New York En- gineers, and at the close of the war received his honorable discharge at Elmira, N. Y. After his war experience he conducted a farm in Van

Buren county, Mich., then returned to New York, but once more located in Michigan, this time set- tling in Isabella county. After another trip to his native state he finally came to California in 1892, since which time he has made his home with his son, Charles J. By his marriage witlı Ruth F. Green, a native of Ohio, three children were born, Charles J., Erastus W. and Wendell P., all of whom are residents of California.

While the family were residing in Van Buren county, Mich., W. P. Daily was born March 25, 1875. His boyhood years, however, were spent almost exclusively in New York state, and his education was received in the common and high schools of Monroe county. While he was still a student in the high school he filled his spare moments by working in a boot and shoe store, and after his graduation took up the work in ear- nest, following it for about five years.

Following the example of his elder brother, who had come to the state in 1885, W. P. Daily came direct to Ventura county in 1893 and found employment in a boot and shoe store in the city of that name. Thus far in life he had displayed no special interest in agricultural matters, and it is probable that he would have continued in the mercantile line had it not been for the fact that his brother Charles, who for many years was manager of the large Patterson ranch, was meet- ing with such splendid success as a rancher. During the six years spent as an employe on the Patterson ranch he gained a practical experience which warranted him in purchasing a ranch of his own in 1899. This consists of one hundred and sixty acres not far from Camarillo, where he finds a market for his barley and beans, these two commodities forming his entire harvest. With the exception of forty acres planted to barley the ranch is given over to the raising of beans, which average from fifteen to twenty sacks to the acre.

In 1898 W. P. Daily was married to Miss Lenora Dusch, who was born in California, the daughter of John Dusch. The latter is now de- ceased, having passed away in 1905, but the mother is still living and makes her home in Somis, this county. Five bright and interesting children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Daily, as follows: Ralph, Mabel, Frank, Emma and Roscoe. Although Mr. Daily is not identified by membership with a religious body, he is in sympathy with and assists liberally all denom- inations, never withholding assistance, in fact, from any good cause. whether religious or sec- ular. Politically he is a Republican. Through- out his community he enjoys an enviable reputa- tion, not only because he has made a success of life in a business sense, but also by reason of the many fine personal attributes which constitute the most praiseworthy citizenship.

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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

GEORGE B. WHITED. The association of George B. Whited with the business affairs of Long Beach and Los Angeles dates from 1890, when he disposed of all interests in other sections and sought California with the intention of mak- ing it his future home. He has thrown himself heartily into the upbuilding enterprises, has given time and means freely, and is justly accorded a place among the representative citizens. He is a native of Kansas, having been born in Ft. Harker, July 29, 1869, the representative of a prominent family long established on Virginian soil, the immigrating ancestor having been an Englishman, whose descendants fought valiantly for the freedom of his adopted country. His father, Payton George Whited, was a native of Swords Creek, W. Va., and a son of Robert Whited, who removed to Chautauqua county, Kans., where he engaged as a farmer. Payton G. Whited was a soldier in Company B, Fifth United States Infantry, and was stationed at various places, among them Wilmington in 1858, Alcatraz Island, at San Francisco, and also saw active service during the Civil war. In 1876, at the time of the troubles with Sitting Bull, he was stationed at Fort Keogh, Mont., after over twenty-one years of army life retiring from active service. For a time he engaged in the cattle business in Montana, later engaged in a general merchandise business in Miles City, finally locat- ing in Los Angeles, where he passed his last days. He was made a Mason in 1883, and at- tained the Knights Templer degree. His wife, formerly Ellen Romaro, was a native of Watrous, N. Mex., and a daughter of a cattleman of that section ; she survives her husband, still making her home in Los Angeles. She became the mother of seven children, of whom but two are now surviving.

The only son born to his parents, George B. Whited passed his boyhood days among the frontier forts of the remote west, receiving an education through an attendance of public schools wherever the family chanced to be located, but gleaning much more of knowledge through his associations in the life about him. In young man- hood he engaged with his father in the cattle business at Miles City, Mont., remaining in that location until 1890, when he disposed of these interests and coming to California prepared to enter upon another line of work. Since his loca- tion in Southern California he has engaged in the outdoor advertising business, city bill post- ing, etc., doing business in Long Beach, San Pedro, Wilmington, Compton, Watts, Alamitos and Huntington Beach and carrying on one of the most extensive enterprises of its kind in the state. He takes a deep interest in his work, keeping throughly in touch with all progress, and holds membership with the Associated Bill

Posters & Distributers Association of United States and Canada, and also a member of the Pacific Coast Bill Posters and Distributers As- sociation. He has purchased considerable prop- erty in Southern California, freely manifesting his faith in its continued prosperity and growth. His business headquarters in Long Beach are at No. 29 Locust avenue, while his home is located on Elden avenue, in Los Angeles. He is quite prominent fraternally, being a member of Aerie No. 791, Order of Eagles, of Long Beach; Fre- mont Lodge No. 466, W. O. W .; and Fair Oaks Camp No. 15. Sons of Veterans, of San Francisco. In his political affiliations he is a stanch Republi- can on all national issues, but locally gives his support to the men and measures best qualified to advance the interests of the general public. He has served as deputy sheriff under Sheriff White for several years and has proven himself an efficient assistant. In every avenue Mr. Whited has proven himself a broad minded, liberal citizen, intent on the upbuilding and de- velopment of the best interests of the portion of the state in which he has chosen to make his home.

WALTER F. POOR, of Highland Park, was born at Newark, N. J., November 21, 1850, his lineage showing a group of men prominent in church and educational work in this country and in foreign fields. His father, Rev. Daniel W. Poor, was born at the Island of Ceylon, where his father was living as a missionary at that time. When twelve years of age his parents sent him alone to the United States and he located in eastern Massachusetts, where his preliminary ed- ucation was received in the common schools before his entrance to Amherst College. His first pastorate after his graduation was at Fair- haven, Mass .. and in the year 1849 he removed to Newark, N. J. There he organized and be- came the first pastor of the High Street Presby- terian Church, which position he continued to fill for twenty years. In 1869 he accepted a call to the pastorate of the First Presbyterian Church in Oakland, Cal., serving for about five years and from then until the spring of 1876 was identified with the Presbyterian Theological Seminary at San Francisco. The remainder of his life he spent as Secretary of the Presbyterian Board of Education, and he resided at Philadelphia, Pa., his death occurring at Newark, N. J., in 1898, while visiting at that place. His wife, who was before her marriage Susan H. Ellis, was a native of Fairhaven, Mass., and has always been an active, interested church worker. She was the mother of six children, five of whom are now living, and she makes her home with her son, Dr. D. W. Poor, in Orange, N. J.

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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Walter F. Poor was educated in the Newark Academy, Newark, N. J., and graduated from that institution before his removal with his parents to Oakland, Cal., in 1869. For two years he remained in Oakland, then came to Los Angeles county and was one of the pioneers of West- minster. now in Orange county. It was while living there that he attended the wedding of Prof. J. M. Guinn, the historian of this work. For nine years Mr. Poor engaged in farming at Westminster on a forty acre ranch which he had purchased. He then removed to Los An- geles and shortly afterwards entered the abstract business. He continued at this for twelve years and then for two years following engaged in the insurance business. In 1900 he removed to High- land Park, a suburb of Los Angeles, where he has since been connected with the firm of Poor & Wing, conducting a successful real-estate busi- ness. He is a Republican and has always been active in politics, and interested in educational matters, having served for two years on the Board of Education of Los Angeles. He is secretary of the Highland Park Improvement Association and is always a leader in any project that tends toward the upbuilding of the community in which he lives. He is a member and elder of the High- land Park Presbyterain Church and liberally supports the various benevolent and charitable interests of that denomination. He is a man high- ly respected for his many sterling qualities and is universally recognized as a leading citizen. While living in Westminster Mr. Poor was mar- ried to Anna Adelaide Leffler, a native of Illinois, a woman of many admirable traits and an active church worker. She died September 16, 1906. Of three children born to them one, a daughter, is now living.

JAY GERALD LYBARGER. Among the large number of real-estate dealers in Long Beach there is none more enterprising and energetic nor more successful than Jay Gerald Lybarger, who has been a resident of this city since 1900. Ten generations ago three Lybarger brothers came from Germany and settled in Pennsylvania and in that state the succeeding generations have been born with the exception of the present Jay Gerald, whose birth occurred April 21, 1871, in Woodford county, Ill., near Metamora. Both his father, Samuel, and grandfather, Anthony, were born in Bedford county, Pa. In 1837, when his son was four year of age, the latter removed to Knox county, Ohio, where he engaged in farming and became very prominent in official circles of that county. Obeying the inborn instinct of the pioneer, in 1852 Samuel Lybarger located in Illinois, bought land in Shelby county, and be- came a pioneer farmer of that section. Later

he continued agricultural pursuits on a fine farmi of two hundred and forty acres in Woodford county until 1891, when he came to California. Three years later he located in Pasadena and lived retired from business until 1902, when his death occurred. His wife, a native of Ohio, was Mary Jane Ayres, of the same family as the Ayres of medical fame, and her death also oc- curred in Pasadena. Four of their five children are still living: Fanny, now Mrs. Mondell of San Diego; J. G., of this sketch, and Ray and Clay, both engaged in the real-estate business in Long Beach.

Reared in Illinois Jay G. Lybarger was educated in the public schools and the high school at Wash- burn, and after the completion of his studies, in 1894 came to California and secured employ- ment as a salesman. In 1898 he removed to the Algadonas rancho near Yuma, Ariz., located on a quarter section of land, and for two and one-half, years endured the hardships and pri- vations of frontier life. Returning to California in 1900 he located in Long Beach and has ever since been engaged in the real-estate business in this city. He has successfully handled about twenty tracts of land, comprising from five to ten acres each, and is now subdividing the Harbor Home tract of forty acres, in which he has a large interest. To Mr. Lybarger belongs the credit of organizing the Long Beach Realty Board, of which he is a charter member and vice-president.

Mr. Lybarger's marriage which occurred in Pasadena, united him with Miss Lucile Cum- mings, who was born in Knox county, Ohio, and whose parents were early pioneers of Pasadena. She is a member of the Congregational Church of that city. The one son. J. G., Jr., born of this union, died in January, 1906, aged one year and five days. Fraternally Mr. Lybarger is a mem- ber of the Eagles, and politically is prominent in Democratic circles, having recently been named as a delegate to the Democratic county con- vention. As a man of strong principles and sterling personal worth he is regarded as one of the most valued citizens of the community in which he resides.

JOHN KEMPLEY. Many of the residents of Long Beach are men who, having reaped suc- cess in other portions of the country, have sought this balmy climate in order that their declining years may be filled with a greater measure of health and happiness than would be possible in the rigorous winters of northern latitudes. Cli- matic reasons were largely instrumental in lead- ing Mr. Kempley to remove from his Iowa farm to the Pacific coast, which he visited for the first time in 1897 and four years later became a

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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

permanent resident of his present home city. Though practically retired from active cares and the possessor of ample means rendering further labors unnecessary, he still retains various in- terests, included among which may be men- tioned a half interest in eighteen valuable claims on Providence mountain in San Bernardino coun- ty.

In Yorkshire, England, Mr. Kempley was born June 29, 1832, being a son of Charles and Han- nah (Page) Kempley, natives of the same coun- try. The father, after having followed the blacksmith's trade in Yorkshire for some years, came to the United States in 1842 and settled among the pioneers of Wisconsin, where he took up a tract of raw land in Racine county. In addition to cultivating his farm he carried on his trade, having a shop on the farm. Later he moved to Marquette county, Wis., where his son was a pupil in a country school. Eventually he established his home at Fort Dodge, Iowa, where he died at the age of ninety-five years. Longevity has been noticeable on both sides of the ancestry. His wife, Mrs. Hannah Kempley, lived to be ninety-one, and her father attained the great age of one hundred and two years.

Among the recollections of Mr. Kempley's boyhood none is more vivid than that of walk- ing five miles to school, where one of his play- inates was Ann Whitehead. That she was a special favorite of his own became evident when he chose her to be his wife. They were united in marriage in Marquette county February 18, 1856, and settled down in the home neighbor- hood, where he followed his father's example in combining the blacksmith's trade with agricult- ural pursuits. In 1864 he removed to Iowa and settled on a farm near Fort Dodge, where he became the owner of a valuable tract of two hundred and forty acres, the land remaining in his possession until May, 1905, when it was sold at a high valuation. Meanwhile he also operat- ed a gristmill worth $10,000, but lost the plant as the result of a washout. While living on his farm he took a warm interest in local affairs, was regarded as one of the leading Republicans in his locality, and also aided greatly in the de- velopment of the school interests, serving as a member of the school board, and in addition was a member of the board of township trustees. Consistent in his character and upright in life, he was from youth an exemplary member of the Methodist Episcopal Church and still main- tains a warm interest in its welfare.

Through his marriage to Miss Whitehead of Wisconsin Mr. Kempley became allied with an English family of honored history. Her par- ents, Benjamin and Sarah Whitehead, were born and reared in England and came to the United States in 1845, settling in Racine county, Wis.,

thence removing to Marquette county, where both remained until death. To the union of Mr. and Mrs. Kempley there were nine children born, named as follows: Sarah, who married Harry Eubanks of Long Beach and has six children ; Hannah Mary, Mrs. H. Wonder, of Washington, who has five children; Esther, who married El- bert Handy of Fort Dodge, Iowa, and has four children ; James, who lives in Fort Dodge, Iowa, is married and has six children; 3. P., who has a family of six children; Charles, living in Green Bay, Wis .; John F., whose family comprises four children; Elbert, who is unmarried; and Elsie, Mrs. James Scoville, who has three chil- dren. Descended from Mr. Kempley are thirty- four grandchildren now living and three de- ceased, and there are also six great-grandchil- dren living.

RALPH E. WATSON. Although a young man Ralph E. Watson is one of the most pro- gressive and enterprising ranchers of this sec- tion, much of his time being devoted to the man- agement of a dairy, having assumed charge of this work when only a lad in years. His many friends speak highly of his ability in this line, and of the tact and zeal with which he has handled the enterprise. Born in Washington College, Tenn., June 2, 1886, he was a son of John A. Watson, a native of Shenandoah valley, Virginia, where he was educated and became a professor of mathematics, which position he held for ten years in Washington College, Tenn. He was then active in educational work as professor in high schools in both Nebraska and South Da- kota. He came to California and died in Nor- walk at the age of fifty-four years. His wife, formerly Fannie Phelps, was a native. of Park- ersburg, W. Va., and died in Lyons, Neb., at the age of forty-five years.

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A history of California and an extended history of its southern coast counties, also containing biographies of well-known citizens of the past and present, Volume II, Part 104

Author: Guinn, James Miller, 1834-1918 Publication date: 1907 Publisher: Los Angeles, Cal., Historic record company Number of Pages: 1234

Author: Guinn, James Miller, 1834-1918
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: Los Angeles, Cal., Historic record company
Number of Pages: 1234